New technology could enable genetic scientists to identify antibiotic resistant genes and help physicians choose better treatments for genetic diseases
Genomic scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City have developed what they call a “smart tweezer” that enables researchers to isolate a single bacterium from a patient’s microbiome in preparation for genetic sequencing. Though primarily intended for research purposes, the new technology could someday be used by clinical laboratories and microbiologists to help physicians diagnose chronic disease and choose appropriate genetic therapies.
The researchers designed their new technology—called mEnrich-seq—to improve the effectiveness of research into the complex communities of microorganisms that reside in the microbiomes within the human body. The discovery “ushers in a new era of precision in microbiome research,” according to a Mount Sinai Hospital press release.
“Imagine you’re a scientist who needs to study one particular type of bacteria in a complex environment. It’s like trying to find a needle in a large haystack,” said the study’s senior author Gang Fang, PhD (above), Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in a press release. “mEnrich-seq essentially gives researchers a ‘smart tweezer’ to pick up the needle they’re interested in,” he added. Might smart tweezers one day be used to help physicians and clinical laboratories diagnose and treat genetic diseases? (Photo copyright: Icahn School of Medicine.)
Addressing a Technology Gap in Genetic Research
Any imbalance or decrease in the variety of the body’s microorganisms can lead to an increased risk of illness and disease.
In researching the microbiome, many scientists “focus on studying specific types of bacteria within a sample, rather than looking at each type of bacteria present,” the press release states. The limitation of this method is that a specific bacterium is just one part of a complicated environment that includes other bacteria, viruses, fungi and host cells, each with their own unique DNA.
“mEnrich-seq effectively distinguishes bacteria of interest from the vast background by exploiting the ‘secret codes’ written on bacterial DNA that bacteria use naturally to differentiate among each other as part of their native immune systems,” the press release notes. “This new strategy addresses a critical technology gap, as previously researchers would need to isolate specific bacterial strains from a given sample using culture media that selectively grow the specific bacterium—a time-consuming process that works for some bacteria, but not others. mEnrich-seq, in contrast, can directly recover the genome(s) of bacteria of interest from the microbiome sample without culturing.”
Isolating Hard to Culture Bacteria
To conduct their study, the Icahn researchers used mEnrich-seq to analyze urine samples taken from three patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) to reconstruct Escherichia coli (E. Coli) genomes. They discovered their “smart tweezer” covered more than 99.97% of the genomes across all samples. This facilitated a comprehensive examination of antibiotic-resistant genes in each genome. They found mEnrich-seq had better sensitivity than standard study methods of the urine microbiome.
They also used mEnrich-seq to selectively examine the genomes of Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila), a bacterium that colonizes the intestinal tract and has been shown to have benefits for obesity and Type 2 diabetes as well as a response to cancer immunotherapies.
“Akkermansia is very hard to culture,” Fang told GenomeWeb. “It would take weeks for you to culture it, and you need special equipment, special expertise. It’s very tedious.”
mEnrich-seq was able to quickly segregate it from more than 99.7% of A. muciniphila genomes in the samples.
Combatting Antibiotic Resistance Worldwide
According to the press release, mEnrich-seq could potentially be beneficial to future microbiome research due to:
Cost-Effectiveness: It offers a more economical approach to microbiome research, particularly beneficial in large-scale studies where resources may be limited.
Broad Applicability: The method can focus on a wide range of bacteria, making it a versatile tool for both research and clinical applications.
Medical Breakthroughs: By enabling more targeted research, mEnrich-seq could accelerate the development of new diagnostic tools and treatments.
“One of the most exciting aspects of mEnrich-seq is its potential to uncover previously missed details, like antibiotic resistance genes that traditional sequencing methods couldn’t detect due to a lack of sensitivity,” Fang said in the news release. “This could be a significant step forward in combating the global issue of antibiotic resistance.”
More research and clinical trials are needed before mEnrich-seq can be used in the medical field. The Icahn researchers plan to refine their novel genetic tool to improve its efficiency and broaden its range of applications. They also intend to collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals to validate how it could be used in clinical environments.
Should all this come to pass, hospital infection control teams, clinical laboratories, and microbiology labs would welcome a technology that would improve their ability to detect details—such as antibiotic resistant genes—that enable a faster and more accurate diagnosis of a patient’s infection. In turn, that could contribute to better patient outcomes.
Findings suggest new medical guidelines may be needed to determine when to perform clinical laboratory cancer screenings on people under 50
From 1990-2019, new diagnoses of early-onset cancer in individuals under 50 years of age increased by 79%, according to a British Medical Journal (BMJ) news release describing research published last year in BMJ Oncology. The question for anatomic pathology laboratories to consider is, why are more people under 50 being diagnosed with cancer than in earlier years? And do medical guidelines need to be changed to allow more cancer screening for individuals under 50-years old?
This new revelation challenges previously held beliefs about the number of younger adults under 50 experiencing early-onset cancer. Patients can sometimes miss symptoms by attributing them to a more benign condition.
“While cancer tends to be more common in older people, the evidence suggests that cases among the under 50s have been rising in many parts of the world since the 1990s. But most of these studies have focused on regional and national differences; and few have looked at the issue from a global perspective or the risk factors for younger adults, say the researchers. In a bid to plug these knowledge gaps, they drew on data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study for 29 cancers in 204 countries and regions,” the BMJ news release states.
According to the news release, “Breast cancer accounted for the highest number of ‘early-onset’ cases in this age group in 2019. But cancers of the windpipe (nasopharynx) and prostate have risen the fastest since 1990, the analysis reveals. Cancers exacting the heaviest death toll and compromising health the most among younger adults in 2019 were those of the breast, windpipe, lung, bowel, and stomach.”
Although these statistics are being seen worldwide, the highest rates are in North America, Australasia, and Western Europe. However, high death rates due to cancer are also being seen in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Oceania. Economic disparities in the latter geographical regions may account for both fewer diagnoses and higher death rates.
“And in low to middle income countries, early onset cancer had a much greater impact on women than on men, in terms of both deaths and subsequent poor health,” the BMJ news release noted.
In an editorial they published in BMJ Oncology on the study findings, Ashleigh Hamilton, PhD (left), Academic Clinical Lecturer, and Helen Coleman, PhD (right), Professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, both at the Center for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK wrote, “The epidemiological landscape of cancer incidence is changing. … Prevention and early detection measures are urgently required, along with identifying optimal treatment strategies for early-onset cancers, which should include a holistic approach addressing the unique supportive care needs of younger patients.” Anatomic pathology laboratories will play an important role in diagnosing and treating younger cancer patients. (Photo copyrights: Queen’s University Belfast.)
What Caused the Increase?
“It’s such an important question, and it points to the need for more research in all kinds of domains—in population science, behavioral health, public health, and basic science as well,” said medical oncologist Veda Giri, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, in a news release. Giri directs the Yale Cancer Center Early-Onset Cancer Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
Although experts are still trying to determine exactly where these cases are coming from, signs point to both genetic and lifestyle factors, the BMJ news releases noted. Tobacco and alcohol use, diets high in cholesterol and sodium, and physical inactivity are all lifestyle risk factors. Experts recommend a healthy diet and exercise routine with minimal alcohol consumption.
As for family history? “We’re beginning to recognize that family history is very important,” says Jeremy Kortmansky, MD, also a Yale Medicine medical oncologist.
According to CNN Health, these rates of early-onset cancer are more common in female patients, with rates going up an average of 0.67% each year.
“For young women who have a significant family history of cancer in the family, we are starting to refer them to a high-risk clinic—even if the cancer in their family is not breast cancer,” Kortmansky noted.
Doctors advise patients to implement healthy habits into their lives, not ignore symptoms, advocate for themselves, and be aware of their family history. Cancer patients may be prescribed cancer treatments at a much earlier age. Medical guidelines for patients may continue to shift and change. And oncologists may be incorporating alternative therapies to help younger patients deal with the shock of their diagnosis.
Will Cancer Rates Continue to Rise?
“Based on the observed trends for the past three decades, the researchers estimate that the global number of new early-onset cancer cases and associated deaths will rise by a further 31% and 21% respectively in 2030, with those in their 40s the most at risk,” the BMJ news release noted.
In an editorial they penned for BMJ Oncology on the findings of the cancer study titled, “Shifting Tides: The Rising Tide of Early-Onset Cancers Demands Attention,” Ashleigh Hamilton, PhD, Academic Clinical Lecturer, and Helen Coleman, PhD, Professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, both at the Center for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK wrote, “Full understanding of the reasons driving the observed trends remains elusive, although lifestyle factors are likely contributing, and novel areas of research such as antibiotic usage, the gut microbiome, outdoor air pollution, and early life exposures are being explored. It is crucial that we better understand the underlying reasons for the increase in early-onset cancers, in order to inform prevention strategies.”
Clinical laboratories should be aware of these findings and the changing landscape of cancer screenings, as they will play a key role in diagnoses. Younger patients may be advocating for cancer screenings and doctors may be ordering them depending on the patient’s symptoms and family history. Anatomic pathology professionals should expect new guidelines when it comes to cancer diagnostics and treatment.
With further research, clinical laboratories may soon be performing macrobiotic testing to measure certain bacterial levels in patients’ gut bacteria
New insights from the University of Chicago (UChicago) into how human microbiota (aka, gut bacteria) play a role in food allergies has the potential to change the way a number of gastrointestinal health conditions are diagnosed and treated. This would give microbiologists and clinical laboratories a greater role in helping physicians diagnose, treat, and monitor patients with these health issues.
Past research has shown that certain gut bacteria can prevent antigens that trigger allergic reactions from entering the bloodstream. For example, Clostridium bacteria in the stomach produce a short-chain fatty acid known as butyrate, a metabolite that promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. This helps keep the microbiome in balance.
One way butyrate is created in the gut is through the fermentation of fiber. However, a lack of fiber in the diet can deplete the production of butyrate and cause the microbiome to be out of balance. When this happens, a state known as dysbiosis occurs that disrupts the microbiome and can lead to food allergies.
Without butyrate, the gut lining can become permeable and allow food to leak out of the gastrointestinal tract and into the body’s circulatory system. This reaction can trigger a potentially fatal anaphylactic response in the form of a food allergy. Thus, eating enough fiber is critical to the production of butyrate and to maintaining a balanced microbiome.
But today’s western diet can be dangerously low in soluble fiber. Therefore, the scientists at the University of Chicago have developed “a special type of polymeric molecule to deliver a crucial metabolite produced by these bacteria directly to the gut, where it helps restore the intestinal lining and allows the beneficial bacteria to flourish. … these polymers, called micelles, can be designed to release a payload of butyrate, a molecule that is known to help prevent food allergies, directly in the small and large intestines,” according to a UChicago news release.
This will be of interest to microbiologists, in particular. It’s another example of researchers connecting a specific species of bacteria in the human microbiome to a specific benefit.
“It’s very unlikely that butyrate is the only relevant metabolite, but the beauty of this platform is that we can make polymers with other microbial metabolites that could be administered in conjunction with butyrate or other therapies,” said Cathryn Nagler, PhD (above), Bunning Family Professor in the Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at UChicago and a senior author of the study. “So, the potential for the polymer platform is pretty much wide open.” As further research validates these findings, clinical labs are likely to be doing microbiomic testing to monitor these therapies. (Photo copyright: University of Chicago.)
Restoring Butyrate in the Gut
One way to treat this anomaly has been through a microbiota transplant—also called a fecal biota transplant—where the administration of a solution of fecal matter is transplanted from a donor into the intestinal tract of the recipient. This transplant alters the recipient’s gut microbial composition to a healthier state, but it has had mixed results.
So, the UChicago researchers went in another direction (literally). They created an oral solution of butyrate and administered it to mice in the lab. The purpose of the solution was to thwart an allergic reaction when the mice were exposed to peanuts.
But there was a problem with their oral solution. It was repulsive.
“Butyrate has a very bad smell, like dog poop and rancid butter, and it also tastes bad, so people wouldn’t want to swallow it,” Shijie Cao, PhD, Postdoctoral Scientist at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at UChicago and one of the researchers who worked on the project, told Medical News Today.
The researchers developed a new configuration of polymers that masked the butyrate. They then delivered these polymer micelles directly into the digestive systems of mice that lacked healthy gut bacteria or a proper gut linings.
The treatment restored the microbiome by increasing the production of peptides that obliterate harmful bacteria. This allowed more of the beneficial butyrate-producing bacteria to emerge, which protected the mice from an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts and even reduced the symptom severity in an ulcerative colitis model.
“We were delighted to see that our drug both replenished the levels of butyrate present in the gut and helped the population of butyrate-producing bacteria to expand,” said Cathryn Nagler, PhD, Bunning Family Professor in the Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and a senior author of the study, in the press release. “That will likely have implications not only for food allergy and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but also for the whole set of non-communicable chronic diseases that have been rising over the last 30 years, in response to lifestyle changes and overuse of antibiotics in our society.”
Future Benefits of UChicago Treatment
According to data from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, about 20 million Americans suffered from food allergies in 2021. This includes approximately 16 million (6.2%) of adults and four million (5.8%) of children. The most common allergens for adults are shellfish, peanuts, and tree nuts, while the most common allergens for children are milk, eggs, and peanuts.
The best way to prevent an allergic reaction to a trigger food is strict avoidance. But this can be difficult to ensure outside of the home. Therefore, scientists are searching for ways to prevent food allergies from happening in the first place. The micelle technology could be adapted to deliver other metabolites and molecules which may make it a potential platform for treating allergies as well as other inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases.
“It’s a very flexible chemistry that allows us to target different parts of the gut,” said Jeffrey Hubbell, PhD, Eugene Bell Professor in Tissue Engineering and Vice Dean and Executive Officer at UChicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and one of the project’s principal investigators, in the UChicago news release. “And because we’re delivering a metabolite like butyrate, it’s antigen-agnostic. It’s one agent for many different allergic indications, such as peanut or milk allergies. Once we begin working on clinical trials, that will be a huge benefit.”
Nagler and Hubbell have co-founded a company called ClostraBio to further the development of butyrate micelles into a commercially available treatment for peanut and other food allergies. They hope to begin clinical trials within the next 18 months and expand the technology to other applications as well.
Further research and clinical trials are needed to prove the validity of using polymer micelles in the treatment of diseases. But it is possible that clinical laboratories will be performing microbiomic testing in the future to help alleviate allergic reactions to food and other substances.
Studying gut bacteria continues to intrigue investors, but can the results produce viable diagnostic data for healthcare providers?
Even as microbiologists and clinical pathologists closely watch research into the human microbiome and anticipate study findings that could lead to new medical laboratory tests based on microbiome testing, there are entrepreneurs ready to tout the benefits of microbiome testing to consumers. That’s the impetus behind an announced deal between a microbiome testing company and a national pharmacy chain.
That deal involves health startup Viome Life Sciences, which recently closed a $86.5 million Series C funding round to support research and development of its consumer health at-home test kits, and CVS, which will sell Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test at 200 of the pharmacy company’s retail locations nationwide, according to an August press release.
“Founded seven years ago by serial entrepreneur Naveen Jain, Viome sells at-home kits that analyze the microbial composition of stool samples and provide food recommendations, as well as supplements and probiotics. Viome says it is the first company to sell gut tests at CVS, both online and in-store. The tests will sell for $179,” GeekWire reported.
Investors appear to be intrigued by these types of opportunities. To date, Viome has raised a total of $175 million.
“In a world where healthcare has often been reactive, treating symptoms and targeting diseases only after they manifest, Viome is pioneering a transformative shift by harnessing the innate power of food and nutrition,” stated Naveen Jain (above), Founder and CEO of Viome, in a press release. “Our mission is not just to prolong life but to enrich it, enabling everyone to thrive in health and vitality.” But some microbiologists and clinical laboratory scientists would consider that the current state of knowledge about the human microbiome is not well-developed enough to justify offering direct-to-consumer microbiology tests that encourage consumers to purchase nutritional products. (Photo copyright: Viome Life Sciences.)
Empowering People to Make Informed Decisions about Their Health
Established in 2016, Bellevue, Washington-based Viome produces and sells, among other tests, its Gut Intelligence at-home test kit, which analyzes the microbial composition of stool samples. This kit relies on RNA sequencing to detect bacteria and other elements present in the gut, such as yeasts and viruses.
The genetic data is then entered into an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to provide individuals with information regarding their personal gut health. Viome partnered with Los Alamos National Laboratory to create their AI platform. The company has collected more than 600,000 test samples to date.
“We are the only company that looks at the gene expression and what these microbes are doing,” said Naveen Jain, Founder and CEO of Viome in the press release.
Viome uses technology combined with science to determine the optimal outcomes for each individual consumer based on his or her unique human and microbial gene expression. The data derived from the microbiome is also utilized to offer nutritional recommendations and supplement advice to test takers.
“At Viome, we’re empowering our customers with an individualized nutrition strategy, cutting through the noise of temporary trends and one-size-fits-all advice,” Jain added. “We’re on a journey to redefine aging itself, and we’re invigorated by the support of our investors and customers. Together, we’re building pathways to wellness that hold the potential to enhance the lives of billions of fellow humans across the globe.”
Manipulating Microbiome through Diet
Some scientists, however, are not sold on the idea of microbiome test kits and the data they offer to healthcare providers for treating illnesses.
“The best thing anybody can do for their microbiome is to eat a healthy diet. That’s the best way of manipulating your microbiome,” David Suskind, MD, a gastroenterologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington, told GeekWire.
Verdu, GeekWire reported, added that “there needs to be standardization of protocols and better understanding of microbiome function in health and disease.”
“Recommendations for such commercial kits would have to be based on evidence-based guidelines, which currently do not exist,” she told GeekWire.
Nevertheless, Jain remains positive about the value of microbiome testing. “The future of medicine will be delivered at home, not at the hospital. And the medicines of the future are going to come from a farm, not a pharmacy,” he told GeekWire.
Other Viome At-home Tests
According to a paper published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology titled, “Role of the Gut Microbiota in Health and Chronic Gastrointestinal Disease: Understanding a Hidden Metabolic Organ,” the human gut contains trillions of microbes, and no two people share the exact same microbiome composition. This complex community of microbial cells influences human physiology, metabolism, nutrition and immune function, and performs a critical role in overall health.
CVS currently sells Viome’s “Gut Intelligence Health Insights Plus Personalized Nutrition Plan” on its website for $149.99. Prices may vary from online to in-store. The test is intended for individuals who want to monitor and address gut imbalances or health symptoms, such as:
Constipation
Diarrhea
Stomach pain
Bloating
Heartburn
Itchy skin
Trouble maintaining a healthy weight
Viome sells the Gut Intelligence Test for $179 on its own website, as well as the following health tests:
Viome also sell precision probiotics and prebiotics, as well as supplements and oral health lozenges.
Gut microbiome testing kits, such as the one from Viome, typically require the collection of a stool sample. Healthcare consumers have in the past been reluctant to perform such testing, but as more information regarding gut health is published, that reluctance may diminish.
Clinical laboratories also have a stake in the game. Dynamic direct to consumer at-home testing has the potential to generate revenue for clinical laboratories, while helping consumers who want to monitor different aspects of their health. But this would be an adjunct to the primary mission of medical laboratories to provide testing services to local physicians and their patients.
One key finding of interest to clinical laboratory scientists is that this research study indicates that the human microbiome may more closely correlate with blood markers of metabolic disease than the genome of individuals
In the search for more sensitive diagnostic biomarkers (meaning the ability to detect disease with smaller samples and smaller quantities of the target biomarker), an international team of researchers has teased out a finding that a panel of multiple biomarkers in the human microbiome is more closely correlated with metabolic disease than genetic markers.
The team also discovered that the foods an individual ate had a more powerful impact on their microbiomes than their genes. The study participants included several sets of identical twins. The researchers found that identical twins shared only about 34% of the same gut microbes. People who were unrelated shared 30% of the same gut microbes.
This is a fascinating insight for pathologists and microbiologists involved in the study of the human microbiome for use in development of precision medicine clinical laboratory testing and drug therapies.
Microbiome Markers for Obesity, Heart Disease, and More
The study began in 2018, when an international team of researchers analyzed the gut microbiomes, diets, and blood biomarkers for cardiometabolic health obtained from 1,100 mostly healthy adults in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). They collected blood samples from the participants before and after meals to examine blood sugar levels, hormones, cholesterol, and inflammation levels. Sleep and activity levels also were monitored. Participants had to wear a continuous glucose monitor for two weeks during the research period.
The scientists discovered that the composition of a healthy gut microbiome is strongly linked to certain foods, food groups, nutrients, and diet composition. They identified markers for obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, and cardiovascular disease in the gut bacteria.
“When you eat, you’re not just nourishing your body, you’re feeding the trillions of microbes that live inside your gut,” genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector, MD, FmedSCi, told Labroots. Spector is a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and one of the authors of the study.
The scientists found that a diet rich in nutrient-dense, whole foods was more beneficial to a healthy gut microbiome, which can be an indicator of good health. Individuals who ate minimally processed foods, such as vegetables, nuts, eggs, and seafood were more likely to have healthy gut bacteria than individuals who consumed large amounts of highly processed foods, like juices and other sweetened beverages, processed meats, and refined grains and foods that were high in added sugars and salt.
“It goes back to the age-old message of eating as many whole and unprocessed foods as possible,” Sarah Berry, PhD, a nutrition scientist at King’s College London and a co-author of the study told The New York Times. “What this research shows for the first time is the link between the quality of the food we’re eating, the quality of our microbiomes, and ultimately our health outcomes,” she added.
The researchers concluded that heavily processed foods tend to contain very minimal amounts of fiber, a macronutrient that helps promote good bacteria in the gut microbiome and leads to better metabolic and cardiovascular health.
They found that people who had healthy blood sugar levels following a meal had higher levels of good bacteria called Prevotella copri, a genus of gram-negative bacteria, and Blastocystis, a genus of single-celled heterokont parasites, present in their guts. These bacteria are associated with lower levels of visceral fat, which accumulates around internal organs and increases risk of heart disease.
These “good” microbes also are affiliated with lower levels of inflammation, better blood sugar control, and lower spikes in blood fat and cholesterol levels after meals.
“We were surprised to see such large, clear groups of what we informally call ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes emerging from our analysis,” Nicola Segata, PhD (above), told News Medical. Segata is a professor and principal investigator at the Computational Metagenomics Lab at the University of Trento in Italy, and co-author of the study. “It is also exciting to see that microbiologists know so little about many of these microbes that they are not even named yet. This is now a big area of focus for us, as we believe they may open new insights in the future into how we could use the gut microbiome as a modifiable target to improve human metabolism and health,” he added. Pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists who read Dark Daily are already familiar with the plethora of ways the human microbiome is being studied for use in diagnostic testing and drug therapy. (Photo copyright: University of Trento.)
The study also found that different people have wildly varying metabolic responses to the same foods, partially due to the types of bacteria residing in their gut microbiome. The consumption of some foods is better for overall health than other foods, but there is no definitive, one-size-fits-all diet that works for everyone.
“What we found in our study was that the same diet in two different individuals does not lead to the same microbiome, and it does not lead to the same metabolic response. There is a lot of variation,” Andrew Chan, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, told The New York Times. Chan is also Chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of the study.
Small Changes in Diet, Big Impact to Health
The team is now planning a clinical trial to test whether changes in diet can alter levels of good and bad microbes in the gut. If proven to be true, such information could help clinicians design personalized nutritional plans that would enable individuals to improve their gut microbiome and their overall health.
“As a nutritional scientist, finding novel microbes that are linked to specific foods, as well as metabolic health, is exciting,” Berry told News Medical. “Given the highly personalized composition of each individual’s microbiome, our research suggests that we may be able to modify our gut microbiome to optimize our health by choosing the best foods for our unique biology.
“We think there are lots of small changes that people can make that can have a big impact on their health that might be mediated through the microbiome,” Berry told The New York Times.
More research and clinical trials are needed before diagnostic tests that use microbiome biomarkers to detect metabolic diseases can be developed. But these early research findings are a sign to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers that microbiome-based assays may come to play a more significant role in the early detection of several metabolic diseases.
